LeConte Glacier is a long and wide
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
in the
U.S. state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. It flows southwest to the head of
LeConte Bay. It was named in 1887 by
U.S. Navy Lieutenant-Commander
Charles M. Thomas in honor of a California geologist
Joseph LeConte. According to
John Muir's book about indigenous peoples of the area, the
Tlingits called it “Huti
ic which he claimed derived from a mythical bird that produced sounds of thunder when it flapped its wings.
Since its discovery, the glacier has retreated nearly , although it is considered to be in a stable position toda
The glacier is known for its "shooter"
icebergs which calve off underneath the water (LeConte Bay is deep) and shoot out of the water due to their buoyancy. In 2019 acoustic observations found that the submarine part of LeConte Glacier melts significantly faster than previously predicted by scientific theory.
Being south of the
57th parallel north, LeConte Glacier is the southernmost tidewater glacier of the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...
.
The glacier is a popular tourist destination, with operators from nearby
Petersburg and
Wrangell running excursions to its
calving face. Students from
Petersburg High School visiting also regularly to monitor its historical retreat.
Also of the same namesake and part of the
Alaska Marine Highway is the ferry
M/V ''LeConte''.
See also
*
List of glaciers
References
Glaciers of Alaska
Glaciers of Petersburg Borough, Alaska
{{Alaska-glacier-stub